The Rose's Dragon Knight
by Grimm slayer Garm
Summary: Fairy tales, legends and myths all began as true events that history has forgotten but instead remembered as superstitious warnings and bedtime stories told by one generation to the next. Ruby Rose, the young huntress in training, is about to learn that the echoes of the past are ever present, just as her future becomes uncertain. Slight AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well here's a new story to enjoy. Hope you like it. The Reaper of Grimm will need to wait until the end of season 3 and longer if nessisary, instead I will focus on this fic and juggle the two as nessisary.**

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Prelude: the Last Dragon of Remnant

The Faunas have many childhood fairy tales that are kept secret from humans or that the latter have simply forgotten over time. These stories are unique to certain regions, kingdoms or even towns and settlements; all save one. All Faunas know the tale of the four mythical tribes considered as royalty by other Faunas, each embodying a legendary creature: the Unicorns swift mediators and upholders of the law; the Nine Tailed foxes clever and wise architects, inventors, craftsmen and smiths; the Phoenix's the judges and rulers, completely unbiased be they man, fauna, friend or foe, never would they cast judgment before ascertaining all the facts or pass a law or tax that would oppress any group; and lastly the Dragons powerful Warriors and knights, each the equal of an army under the right conditions, boasting unparalleled strength of body and aura and a near infinite life span, masters of the sky's and the elements, but even so none feared the Dragons for they needed a master bound by a blood pact to use their immense powers and none feared the masters for they had to give their life force to fuel said powers.

This story tells of a time long ago when the Faunas under the rule of the four tribes lived peacefully beside the human kingdoms, a peace lasting many years until the Faunas began to petition that all kingdoms be merged as one so that all may benefit from their prosperity. The Unicorns were the first to speak 'Nay! We shall not force our culture unto others!' The Nine Tails were the second to speak 'Nay! We shall not impose our architecture and crafts unto others for never shall improvements be ever made!' Third to speak were the Phoenix's 'Nay! Never shall we ever enforce and dictate the laws and rights of others!' The Faunas then replied 'But already our culture influences others! Already our architecture is adopted by other! Already they learn and implement our ruling system!' And so continued this conflict until a group of young Faunas approached the Dragons. 'Dragons with your strength we could conquer the other kingdoms and show the Unicorns, the Nine Tails and the Phoenix's that they are wrong.' The Dragons had until then disagreed with the Faunas but did not support the the other three tribes, the Dragons new that whatever side they took they would be reduced to weapons now and forever. Such was the wisdom they had gained from their many many years. 'We will not take sides in this for if we do all will have lost!' Time and time again did the Dragons answered the Faunas, but the Faunas would not be denied.

One fateful night the Faunas tried to force the blood pact on a young dragon and succeeded, but the young proud dragon would not yield and fought the pact and master until the effort burnt her life away. The result was terrible not only did the Faunas fail but they had also awakened a terrible rage, from the normally slow to anger Dragons, the likes of which have never before been seen, the Dragons rage was such that all pacts were broken, the earth trembled, the lands burnt, the seas raged, the winds howled and Remnant itself cried in pain in a show of power greater than even the Dragons new they possessed fuelled only by anger and hate. Had it not been for one of the nine tails, proposing that the Dragons leave Remnant for another home, all life would have been scoured from Remnant by the Dragons. And so the Dragons left Remnant, through the gate that the Nine Tails built, they were accompanied by the other three mythical tribes and some humans disgusted by the Faunas never to be seen again. And so tell the Faunas this story to their young first and foremost be it to teach them to respect all life, to lessen a sense of guilt or shame on their part or even as some sort of custom or instinct that developed over time regardless all Faunas know this tale that you will not find in a library, book store, on scroll-net or any form of written copy past or present.

Our story doesn't end here, no this is only its prelude.

Dracus watched as the very few remaining travellers began to make their way through the gate. "The foxes outdid themselves this time round right Dracus? And all because of a handful of stupid Faunas, well that and how close you came to bring the apocalypse down on us after what they did to your sister." Onix spoke as he approached from behind admiring the Dragons Gate. "Why are you staying behind? There's nothing left here for you except pain, longing and death."

A low growl escaped Dracus, the formerly ruby scaled dragon with clear sapphire eyes was now adorned with crimson scales so dark that most appeared black and his eyes now a dark lifeless navy-blue. The changes are the result of his great anger and loss, most doctors agree that he has at most a hundred years to live and that unless he starts letting the pain and sorrow go, he only has five to ten years left. "I'm not in the mood, just spit it out already." If his growl and sharp edge in his voice was not an indication of his foul mood the tremors that shook the cave was.

"Alright no need to get upset. Just wanted to know what your plans are." Onix was now eying Dracus carefully, looking to see if his mood was about to take a turn for the worst not wanting to set the walking apocalypse off. Most of the travellers nervously hurried through the gate hoping to escape the unstable dragon.

"I intend to build a memorial statue of Sapphire in front of the gate, then I wait, for what and how long I don't know and I don't care."

"That's it your going to erect a statue and wither away for all eternity! Alright as your best friend I'm telling you that that is a _borsnit_ crazy plan and that I know as well that Sapphire wouldn't..." The flash of rage that crossed Dracus' face was the only warning that Onix got before he hit the cave wall, creating a crater several meters deep, and have a hand pressed against his throat choking the life out off him.

"You have no clue as to what she wanted! As she was dying in my arms she told me that she did not want her name used to start a war and that I shouldn't abandoned Remnant. So go, I will stay here and see her dying wishes through even if it kills me." Dracus then threw his friend through the gate never to see him again. It did not take long for the remaining crowd to file through the gate afterwards, leaving Dracus behind, the last member of the four mythical tribes on Remnant.

The statue erected in Sapphire's honour took ten years to complete. Dracus saw to its perfection, marble was used to give the statue its likenesses and precious stones welded to the marble as enamel so that it would never lose its lustre or colour. Sapphires mined from the world over acted as scales and clothing, diamonds as teeth, claws and dorsal spines and finally her eyes were made of jade and onyx. A perfect life sized statue of his sister crouching to cup a flower in her hands, wings and tail outstretched as if to protect the flower and her face radiated love and tenderness. The only inscription read 'Sapphire strongest of the Dragon tribe who died, her mind shackled but free, remembered by a loving brother for all eternity'.

The only interruption to the making of Sapphire's memorial statue was the war that the Faunas tried to start. Believing that no one was left to stop their ambitions of unifying all the people of the world under their rule and the humans that rallied their forces to protect the honour of the self sacrifice Sapphire made. This war was a war in name only for no bloodshed came of it, before the armies of the Faunas and humans could clash Dracus put a stop to it by splitting the continent, creating what would later become Mantle. A final show of power fuelled by his anger towards the Faunas and his sister's dying wish. This was the first and last time he would interfere with men and fauna. Having done all he swore to do a deep slumber overtook Dracus and he embraced it as he waited for what he did not know but longed for what was to come.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Sleeping Dragon and the Wilted Rose**

And so Dracus slept, exactly how long, no one knows! His slumber was by no means sound, haunted by dreams of endlessly chasing a rose carved from a single ruby. This dream was no stranger to him, it is the only dream that he had ever dreamt in his life. Always did he search and waited for the fateful day that he would find the rose that haunted his dreams.

And so starts our tale as a small figure stumbles into the cave crying, searching for a place to stay the night that would offer her safety from the creatures of Grimm. Unbeknownst to her, her sobbing had roused the caves resident and guardian from his long slumber...

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My head snapped up at the sound of shifting pebbles, rousing me from my slumber. _"Where did she come from? I thought that I had sealed the cave entrance after completing Sapphire's memorial."_ I thought as I silently stretched my muscles, stiff from my long slumber. From the perch that I had chosen as my bed, I was able to make out the small figure that had entered the cave stumbling through the dark towards the statue I had carved. The only source of light illuminating the cave was the soft rays of moonlight shining through strategically placed crevices, placing my sister's statue in a perpetual pool of light.

Thanks to the superior night vision the Dragons have over the other Faunas tribes I noticed that it was a young girl wearing a short skirt and a blouse covered by a corset, a set of stiff heavy boots in a style I was not familiar with and finally a cloak slung over her shoulders. Everything was black with red accents save for her solid crimson cloak, silver eyes and various accoutrements such as the rose emblem on her belt. Even her hair was black at the roots and transitioned to a chocolate cherry red. From the way her corset allowed free arm movement, I guess her preferred weapon is a pole-arm.

"Someone must have truly loved you if they saw fit to erect a statue as beautiful and detailed as this one to remember you by. Who are you to be blessed so?" She thought out loud. Her voice rang with sorrow but no amount of sorrow and pain could hide the usual energetic, carefree, joyous and contagious spirit that is this girls normal demeanour.

"My younger sister Sapphire exactly as I remember her before her death, carved of my own hands, and honestly it does not do her justice. Little one if you knew of her plight you would not call her blessed. Now please leave this place, it is all that remains of her and I wish it remained so." I decided not to reveal myself yet, remaining in the shadows, my voice cracking with disuse and old sorrow. This earned a loud 'Eeeepp' from the young human girl.

"Sorry I didn't know this cave was taken. I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose and you are?" She Introduced herself in a shy reclusive manner, as if she found it difficult to interact with others. "I'm kinda tired, hungry and without my weapon. I stand no chance against the grimm, so I was wondering if it would be possible for me to stay the night?"

Not wanting to turn the girl away to her death I gave in. "Who I am is unimportant but you may stay the night, I shall go collect some food and firewood. Conversations are always better over a warm meal." I said this, never having left the shadows, and left the cave not waiting for a confirmation or reply. _"Why did I let her stay the night and why do I feel like my long wait is over? Could she be the ruby carved into a rose that have plagued my every dreams? That silver rose on her belt is exactly like the one from my dreams, she could very well be."_

It didn't take long to gather the wood, nuts, fruits, various edible plants and small game that we would dine on tonight. When I returned to the cave, I found Ruby studying the Dragons Gate. She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice my presence until the smell of the cooking meat filled the air. "Soooo, you're a dragon? I didn't think you existed outside of myths and legends and quite honestly you're not what I expected of a dragon." Ruby asked as she let the spit of meat cool before enjoying the simple meal.

"Yes Ruby, dragons are very real, but most perceive our lives as myths and legends. Our lifespans are so long that you would look at us and see only a living legend. I don't know what you were expecting, but Dragons are just a special Faunas tribe." Pausing for a moment, wondering why Ruby would ask such a question, it suddenly dawned on me. "How long have I been sleeping for!?"

"What? How old are you, how long do dragons live for? Ohh, and what did you mean in 'Sapphire strongest of the Dragon tribe who died, her mind shackled but free' if you don't mind my asking, and is it related to that gate thing that goes nowhere?" Although these questions were asked in rapid succession, the last was asked in a curious, solemn but respectful manner, all the while an expression of understanding a great lost covered the crimsonette's face.

"You ask the hardest of questions Ruby. I was seven thousand two hundred and seventy three when I went to sleep, only to wake to your crying. How long I was asleep, I do not know. We claim that our lifespans is near infinite but we actually don't know, since as far as I know, none of us have actually died of old age yet. We are not immortal we just age very slowly. Concerning my sister I'd rather not talk about it but if you ask a Faunas about the four mythic tribes and the Dragon's Gate you would understand, I doubt that they would have forgotten." Ruby nodded, understanding what it was that I said, but some of the implications deeply shocked her. "Now if you don't mind my asking, how is it that you stumbled into this cave, weapon-less, tired, hungry and crying?"

"It's alright, I understand. I've lost someone as well." Ruby solemnly looked at me as though trying to console me. Then suddenly a bright, mischievous smile exploded into existence. "I will tell you my story on one condition! Tell me are your wings for show or can you fly?"

I had to laugh, here we are in serious conversation and she blind-sides me with an irrelevant question and a determined expression like this was the most important question of all. "No my wings are not just for show Sapphir..." I bit my tongue before I could finish, a stab of pain pierced my chest as I realized what it was that I said. "Sorry Ruby, it's just that the way you asked your question exactly like she would have. You would have been inseparable friends had you met."

"It's alright I do it as well from time to time; well, where to begin? I guess I should start the very beginning." Ruby wore a sad smile, one that indicated this story starts pleasantly enough, but that would not last. And so Ruby explained how she thwarted Roman Torchwick from robbing a dust shop and how she was enrolled to Beacon Academy two years early as a result, initiation, how during a team dispute they were involved in another robbery but this time involving Torchwick and the White Fang, how they decided to start an investigation on their own, the subsequent fight with the Atlesian Paladin mech and finally the official investigation of Mount Glenn that ended in disaster. Through it all I patiently listened, only interrupting her when I did not know what an object was or what some term meant. Invariably, she would look at me with a deadpan expression that said 'Were you really sleeping that long?'.

When she finished I looked at her confused. "I can see that your team has done much but how does that explain how you got here in tears?"

"It's because of all that we have done together that makes the last week's events hurt. I thought that they would stand by me no matter what, and I them, but that changed. It started a week ago when..."

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 **A/N: Yes a cliffhanger! Get used to them, it will not be the last. You have been warned! On a side note please tell me what you think. Feedback helps, positive or negative.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: sorry it took longer to post. My new job has seriously cut into my writing time. And honestly this chapter was trying my patience, some parts I couldn't word correctly and it took time to sort out.**

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Warnings of a Frost

"Weiss this was a great idea! And how did you even know of this place, I tried looking this place up on every tourists site I could think of and came up empty!?" I said to my partner as we were enjoying the natural hot springs. Prof Ozpin had given all students the week off after the Breach, and we decided that some down time was long overdue.

"That's because you won't find it advertised, anywhere. This resort has two rules; tell only those you would share a dip with and that here all are equals. The only time I have seen my dad not sneer or make a racist comment towards the Faunas was here. The islands are just big enough for the resort so there are no Grimm here. Plus, the springs are said to do wonders to your aura, I guess he didn't want to risk getting banned."

"Wait, your dad renown the world over for his hate and disgust of the Faunas kept his mouth shut and played nice. Wouldn't he just be able to buy this place whenever he'd like to?" Blake asked with obvious surprise in her voice.

"Apparently he tried once, but the owners refused. When he tried to use his political and commercial powers they used some sort of 'black magic' to push us on the verge of bankruptcy in less then a month. Ever since he's been scared to cross them. Just don't ever mention it, it's a very touchy subject back home and liable to ruin your life for doing so." We all looked at Weiss, our eyes practically popping out and our jaws hanging. Before we could comment at this startling fact, a siren similar to the Vale early warning system could be heard coming from the locker room of the woman's bath.

"I gotta get that guys, that's the priority channel from Beacon." As I entered the locker room I heard the rest of my team exit the pool. Reading the message on my scroll as they entered, I looked at them and sighed.

"What's wrong sis? It can't be that bad."

"Our vacation has been cut short, Ozpin wants us back at Beacon. A Bullhead is already on its way to pick us up."

"Did he say why he had to cut our down time short?" Weiss complained as she tied her ponytail.

"Nope! Just said that it was super urgent."

Four hours later we were in the elevator heading towards to the headmaster's office. When the elevator stopped and admitted us to the clock tower office space, I immediately recognized the Vale Police Department head of criminal investigation, Inspector George Brown. "Hey Professor Ozpin, you said it was urgent, does it have something to do with the Vale PD?"

"Ah! Ruby, perfect timing, I was just telling Inspector Brown here that you would be the best person to ask about rifle/scythe hybrid weapons considering your choice of weapon." Prof Ozpin as usual had an expressionless face on but despite that I could tell that something bothered him. He did not have his calm mysteriously playful demeanour that I have come to expect, instead he was just calm.

"Ozpin are you certain this child can help? I would rather have have Qrow, an actual scythe master instead of this green wannabe."

"But as you can see he has his eyes set on your uncle. Normally I would be happy to oblige, but because of the nature of the weapon and the fighting style of the murderer using it, I thought you would have better insight."

"Murder?! And a scythe user to boot?! Ohh! This is not good, what's the kill count so far and how much of a fight did the victims put up?" I asked biting my nails. Yang looked at me concerned, knowing full well that I only bit my nails when I was really, really worried about something.

"Sis, you don't think that this is a reaper, do you?"

"Care to enlighten the rest of us!" Weiss exclaimed in that annoyed manner that said she was concerned.

"Scythes are considered the most deadly weapons around because the user has a natural affinity to death; a scythe just doesn't feel right in your hands unless you enjoy killing. All scythe users enter a state of euphoria during battle that climaxes when we kill, and unless we learn to control or reign this euphoria in we lose ourselves to it and become 'Grimm reapers'." I answered, my voice soft and shaking with shame. I had practically just shouted my deep dark secret that I kept hidden under my bright cheery personality.

"Mmm! I remember your uncle saying much the same thing when I asked him why he would always hold back in a fight. I understand this is something scythe users usually avoid talking about." Pausing and nodding to my statement before continuing with a heavy sigh. "I will inform Qrow that we may need his help." Proffesor Ozpin then put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a look that told me that I shouldn't be ashamed of myself.

"I don't understand Ruby, why is this so worrisome?" Blake asked not confused but worried. She had left the white fang because of the violent ways they adopted, now I could see the fear she felt towards me because of the revelation I made.

"Don't worry Blake, I use my cheery childish personality as a shield. I'm not going to devolve into a reaper and to answer your question Grimm reapers will continue to kill working their way on to stronger and stronger opponents as they go until there are none left to challenge them or die in the attempt."

"Ruby are you certain I can trust you? I had a friend that gradually came to be more violent over time. At first there where reasons, and as time passed by, the reasons evaporated and his aggression increased. I want you to look at me and tell me that this will not happen to you."

"Blake, I have been taught how to use a scythe by the best scythe master in the world, able to let his inner reaper out at will without becoming one. I don't have his level of control yet, but neither will I lose control."

"Ozpin, again are you certain about this girl? This investigation could break her if we accept her help and I'm still uncertain about how helpful she will be."

"George, she is the only scythe master that can hold a candle to Qrow, not surprising considering he trained her himself. As for her character I doubt anything could push her to the breaking point."

"Alright, her team can be brought in as advisors, but I will assign one of my men to escort them and pass on any relevant information."

"Alright, first things first; when, where and how many? Second, I need to see the crimes scenes and the victims!" I wasn't looking forward to this but if it meant saving lives, I couldn't shy away.

And so an hour later we were studying the first crime scene. I was walking myself through the fight, the victim had put up a good fight but what struck me as odd was the assailant. "Well this is bad! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this was my handy-work." I mumbled as I mulled my thoughts out loud. "Even the weapon used matches Crescent Rose down to the special modified ammunitions I use. Who are you my doppelgänger, and how did you get the blueprints for my sweetheart? That will not go unpunished."

"What's that Miss Rose?" Asked Detective Marc. Inspector Brown had assigned him to act as liaison between the department and us. He was a tall man with ash grey eyes and hair, a set of distinct grey wolf ears and a medium build. Earlier when he had introduced himself, he stated that he was once an aspiring hunter but was not accepted to any of the academies and was surprised that I was admitted two years early to Beacon.

"Oh! Just talking to myself. Anyway I'm done and ready to give a rundown of the killers weapon, gear and skills."

"I thought you needed to see the other scenes and the victims."

"Don't need to; the killer was not discreet. Thanks to that, they left their signature all over the place. Your looking someone that is my height, huntsmen class skill, using a high caliber sniper scythe but is not a proper scythe user, the scythe in question has an identical design and specs as mine and finally their semblance is speed or an equivalent. Good news is, Inspector Marc, your killer is not a reaper but a copycat, the bad news is I'm the person they're mimicking." The last part disgusted me to no end, how could it not? All I ever wanted to do with my life was help people and now I have a doppelgänger killing people.

"Are you certain?"

"Unfortunately yes! Some of the shots fired are special rounds of my own design, a tungsten armour piercing round imbued with red, green and brown dust enabling them to burn through a meter of concrete and still have enough force to punch through yet another ten centimetres. Oh there's Yang! Yang you found one?!"

"Ya! These are your super heavy armoured Grimm busters. Found it at the nearby bank; Weiss and Blake are still looking for more. We had cut and pry the safe's door apart to retrieve it, the meter thick door barely stopped it. Sis, don't you think these things are overkill? And what would possess you to design these things in the first place?"

"Overkill? Nah! I was looking for a way to be able put the larger tougher types of Grimm down after what happened during initiation, then at mount Glenn I saw some Goliaths and inspiration hit. I designed those rounds and upgraded Crescent Rose to be able to kill a Goliath from four kilometres away." I said snorting and giggling childishly as if what Yang had just said defied common sense. Taking the bullet from Yang and carefully inspecting it, my good humour left me. "You said almost punched a hole through the vault's door?" After silent nod from my sister, I threw the new piece of evidence to Detective Mark.

"Sis here's just pissed that not only did some nut-job reproduced Crescent Rose perfectly only to perverse it with murder but at the same time failed to reproduce her special ammunitions." Yang explained as way to answer the puzzled look Detective Mark had.

"Miss Rose, you do understand that this evidence doesn't put you in good light, right? More so because you have recently developed said rounds, correct?" Detective Mark dryly added "I will need you to hand over your weapon and submit for questioning, not that I'm pressing charges but it's best if you want to eliminate suspicion from yourself."

"Fine, but the Grimm buster rounds would burn any rifling marks away and Crescent Rose's bore is perfectly smooth and uses a pulse of aura to activate the magnetic rifling and EM accelerator enhancement." This earned me a raised eyebrow and a disbelieving look from the detective, probably because of my all out custom mods, before he turned around and waved at me to follow him. When he did so, I swear I heard him mumble 'and I thought the bullets were overkill'.

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Choosing to pause my story here to give myself time to collect my thoughts and compose myself for the next part. My mysterious host thinking I was done telling him my story chose to interrupt me at this point. "I still don't see what brought you here, Ruby. So far, you have told me achievements to be proud of."

"Your right and I am, it's just that the next part of my story is something that I never saw coming. As Ozpin had said, all the evils of the world could not break me, but what happened next did. Half a week ago another string of murders occurred, only this time..."

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 **A/N: Please leave a review, even if it's something simple like 'nice'.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it took so long editing took waaaay longer then anticipated. Good news is that chapter 5 is almost done. So without further adue, ENJOY!**

The Frost to Wilt a Rose

School had just resumed the previous day and although our vacation was cut short, we were well rested. "Would team RWBY please come to my office, team RWBY please come to my office." Echoed prof Ozpin's voice on the intercom, in the middle of the class. I knew something important was up, Prof Ozpin never interrupted classes; he would either wait for classes to be over or send a message to the teacher's scroll.

"That's...unusual, Professor Ozpin loathes disrupting classes." Blake voiced the obvious surprise we shared on our way to his office.

"Meh! Must be super important, we won't get stopped by teachers asking why we're not in class this way." Yang bluntly pointed.

"Whatever the reason, I hope it's a good one. I hate missing class." Weiss complained about her grades slipping

"Weiss, I'm certain that this is much more important then your grades, I think Detective Mark is here to see us. I just hope they have a suspect or that they need our help to apprehend them" I sharply added, effectively cutting the idle chatter. The murder case had become taboo around me, the school knew our team was helping the police. When the murder weapon was revealed to be a sniper/scythe identical or almost identical to mine, no one was brave enough to mention it in my presence, even team CRDL had enough intellect to avoid the topic.

Thanks to the tension of my remark, we made our way to Ozpin's office in silence. As expected Detective Mark was sitting and talking with Professor Ozpin. What I didn't expect was Uncle Qrow leaning against the wall. "Uncle Qrow! Miss me?" I said as I ran and jumped on his back clinging to his shoulder.

After a slight pause looking as if he was putting serious though into his answer, he answered with a nonchalant, "Nah! Not really kiddo." A smile suddenly brightened his features. "So what have you trouble makers been up to?"

"Oh, not much. We got a medal for saving the city, and we have been helping the Vale PD profile a killer. Well Rubes has, we're just assisting" Yang bluntly but proudly answered.

"The way I hear it is that you failed to stop the train, putting the city at risk in the first place. As for helping the Vale PD though, I want to hear your profile on the killer before we compare notes. I already took a look at the most recent scenes." For anyone that doesn't know Uncle Qrow, it would sound as if he was only talking business, but I could tell that he was worried.

"I'm afraid that that will not be necessary; yesterday another body was found. Luckily this time the murder was caught on a security camera." Detective Mark pulled out his scroll and showed us a video of a figure in a red hooded cloak, black shirt, combat boots, a black skirt with red trimmings and a red and black scythe and a large fit man facing each other. The figure was wearing their hood up, so we couldn't see what the perpetrator looked like as they mercilessly cut their victim down. I'm not normally one to get angry, but seeing this video was enough to make my blood boil. This imposter just declared war by taking almost every value I hold dear and twisting it into a dark perverse version of itself.

"So Detective Mark, you have a video of someone that looks and fights like me. I'm guessing you're here to inform me that I'm now the prime suspect and that the profile I did or those of friends and family is now invalid, is that correct?" I asked trying to get my rage under control.

"No, there is a witness that saw the perpetrator fleeing the scene. Luckily for us this witness saw the suspect using their semblance. Ruby Rose, the semblance of the perpetrator is speed that leaves crimson rose petals in the user's wake. I have the unfortunate task of arresting you for seven counts of murder. For the record I don't believe that you're the actual killer, and that the evidence is circumstantial at best and by no means sufficient to warrant an arrest." As he informed me of my arrest a look of disgust crossed his face, only to be replaced with a sly smirk. "Fortunately we don't have jurisdiction over huntsmen or huntsmen-in-training, who are completely independent entities, so in reality I can't arrest you unless your headmaster permits it." At this the focus of everyone in the room shifted to Professor Ozpin. "Ozpin, just know that if you refuse, George will call a press conference and use the press to apply pressure on you from Vale's council."

Professor Ozpin looked as if he was deep in thought for a moment before a small smile tugged at his lips. "Ms Rose, how would you handle the situation? Like Detective Mark said, there is no concrete evidence against you, but at the same time we can't have the council and the press trying to force our hand and smearing our schools good name. What would you do to diffuse the situation, appeasing the Vale PD and maintain your innocence?" Just like that the spotlight was again placed on me, but the look that Professor Ozpin gave me said that this was a lesson that as a leader I must learn, to anticipate the possible consequences of my decisions and not just the results.

After a minute of thought, an answer came to mind. "First I would be suspended from any huntsmen related duties and activities and placed under house arrest here at Beacon, second Crescent Rose would be confiscated and third request that all evidence gathered by the police department be accessible to huntsmen so that they may perform their own investigation. That's what I would do if I was in your shoes sir."

Professor Ozpin gave me a flat look and a mindful nod before speaking up. "Excellent Ms Rose, I'm glad to see that your time here at Beacon is bearing fruit." Pausing to give me a discreet smile full of pride. "But I must warn you that these waiting games can be trying, especially for those like you, so full of life and energy."

"Don't worry Professor, as long as my team is with me I can get through any situation." I brightly chimed as I jumped on Yangs back, my previous animosity now replaced with the comforting presence of my team.

Yang had a big cocky grin and primed Amber Cilica, Blake was staring at me, her eyes dancing and Weiss shook her head and mumbled a half-hearted 'Dolt'. This was how each of my teammates confirmed that they had my back just as they knew I had theirs.

Still on Yang's back we started to leave, I was about to introduce Weiss and Blake to Uncle Qrow when Detective Mark cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Miss Rose, I suggest you be careful. George has it in for you, whether it is you specifically or that he wants to bury this case and is using you as a scapegoat I don't know, ether way he's pushing hard to make you the suspect."

"Thanks Detective Mark! Well guys, I guess we go see Professor Goodwitch, give her Crescent Rose, then hit the library later today to research the laws and procedures on the correct procedures to arrest a huntsmen in training; something tells me that this will become my best weapon to weather this storm."

As we left I started to introduce Uncle Qrow to Blake and Weiss, quickly looking back to Professor Ozpin hoping to gage my situation. I immediately wish I hadn't; Ozpin's brows were deeply furrowed and he had a look of disgust as though the contents of his mug suddenly became undrinkable. Somehow I knew that this was an omen of ill tidings to come and that I should brace myself for the worst.

The following two days the other students avoided me, whenever I would walk by a group they would sneer at me whispering things like 'Ozpin's pet' or 'why are they letting that killer walk among us', followed by 'don't look at her' or 'she'll kill you if she hears you'. Although the rumours and whispers hurt I didn't let it bother me, what did was that my friends and team were slowly distancing themselves from me, even Yang. The one person who always was on my side, not just a sister but was a motherly figure as well, had begun to abandon me when I needed her support the most.

On the third day of my house arrest, while I ate lunch alone, ignoring the glares from the student body. Inspector Brown entered the cafeteria, followed by twenty or so heavily armed officers. After a quick glance they proceeded towards my location. "Ms Ruby Rose, you are hereby under arrest for seven counts of murder, please do not resist, we will use force if necessary." Using a blank matter of fact tone, the Inspector made his intentions clear.

"Considering that Professor Ozpin is not accompanying you, he has not sanctioned this arrest. That being the case do you have a warrant for my arrest signed by two Judges, the ruling counsel of Vale and the central council? If you do I must remind you that you must first present the warrant to the headmaster and have him accompany you during my arrest. I will be happy to remain here under guard until then, but failure of having the warrant and headmaster Ozpin present will be considered as an unlawful arrest and is liable to have criminal charges pressed against you along with proper compensations for having unlawfully detained me." My tone was flat and neutral, and my new-found knowledge of the correct procedures and regulations for this situation allowed me to refuse being arrested without actually resisting arrest.

After a moment of shock, indicating that Inspector Brown was surprised that I knew the correct procedures and regulations, he turned towards the officers and nodded. As one they grabbed their weapons and trained them on me, it was only then that I realized that the Vale PD was not following proper protocols and that someone wanted me gone; if I was captured I would likely never see a proper trial. My only hope was to evade capture until one of the teachers put an end to this, and so with that thought in mind, I ran.

For the next five minutes I ran through the school grounds, avoiding the hailstorm of bullets unleashed upon me by the police. Searching, hoping for help, I rounded a corner and saw my team, and in an instant, hope had replaced the fear and worry I felt. That hope was soon crushed when Yang noticed what was happening, she then avoided eye contact and started to walk away, Weiss and Blake following suit. "No! Why? WHY!?" This made me stop running, it didn't mater anymore, nothing did, my friends and sister had turned their backs on me, not even giving me the chance to explain, to prove my innocence. Had all we accomplished together meant nothing?

Falling to my knees, I awaited the world to end but it never came. After what appeared to be an eternity I heard a voice calling my name but could not tell who it was nor did I care, the world around me was a blur that was not registered. A hand started to shake me but I ignored it until I was slapped me in the face, pulling me out of my stupor. Starting to focus on reality again I noticed Velvet giving me a very concerned look, the rest of her team forming a protective ring around me, weapons drawn, ready to act on a moments notice. Professor Goodwitch was stalking away, the usually stern but gentle woman was now wrath incarnate, with a tangled mass of men dragged through the mud by an unseen force behind her.

As soon as my vision cleared, I started crying, unable to hold back the flood of emotions that my teams' betrayal caused. "Why? Why didn't they help me? I need their help! I didn't do anything wrong so why did they abandon me? I don't understand why?" I repeated these words over and over incoherently in between sobs.

"Your safe now, we won't leave you, I promise" Velvet reassuringly whispered in my ear as she hugged me.

"How's she doing Velv?" Coco asked looking concerned.

"It's worst than we thought! Sounds like her team abandoned her and she doesn't know why. The shock was too much and she broke down. I had to slap her silly to snap her out of it only to have her start crying and babbling about how they just walked away." Velvet replied with such an edge of rage and venom, that I had to second guess if this was the same meekly timid girl that I have come to know.

"Alright this is now a kill circle. You give one warning to anyone that isn't a teacher after that any and all force is authorized, that includes you Velv, little red's had enough shit to deal with. Yastu can you carry her? We'll take her to our room, she'll be safer there." Just as Coco finished giving her team orders my train of thoughts took a dark turn.

"There's nothing left for me here. My sister abandoned me, how can I help people if my own sister doesn't believe in me? I...I don't belong here." Squirming my way out of Velvet's arms I ran away as fast as my semblance could take me, away from Beacon, away from the friends that abandoned me. Jumping off the cliff by the Emerald forest I continued to run, making my way to Forever Fall not stopping until it started to get dark.

 _"Great! Now I'm dust knows where, tired, hungry, weapon-less and I have nowhere to make camp."_ I though as I cried looking for a place to sleep, surprised that my emotional turmoil hasn't attracted the Grimm in the area yet.

* * *

"...and then I stumbled my way in here. I still don't know how I got here alive." As I finished telling my story, I wiped the last of my tears away. Still an emotional wreck, I began to wonder if I could forgive my team or even trust them afterwards.

"I suggest you don't ponder such things until you're ready to cross that bridge. The hurt you feel at the moment will only cloud your judgement and make forgiveness or trusting others harder. Trust me, you learn much about emotions and people in several thousand years." The unsolicited advice snapped me out of my current train of thought, the wisdom of his words and ability to read my thoughts was a sharp reminder of his age despite the fact that he appeared to be about the same age as me.

"Thank you... Ugh... Could you please tell me your name, it's awkward talking to you without knowing your name, and it would be rude to call you 'hey you'."

"Yes, I suppose that it would only be fair. I am pleased to make your acquaintance Ruby Rose, I am Dracus, Dracus the Grimm's-Bane." Dracus offered me his hand, but when I went to take it, he grabbed me by the forearm in a firm grasp. Somehow this felt right, like this was how one warrior acknowledged another. Returning the gesture and shaking his arm once, I finished the greeting with a 'pleased to meet you'.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Eclipsed Sun Dragon**

And so, the Rose met the Dragon and a new friendship had begun; neither knew where this friendship would lead or how their adventure together would change Remnant. All they knew was that, in one another, they had found a companion they could trust.

As Ruby recounted the week's events, Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy was finding it extremely difficult to remain in control of himself. The reasons for this was the twenty officers and Mr. George Brown who dared try to unlawfully arrest one of his students, the three other students currently waiting in Glynda's office being supervised by said extremely vexed Glynda and finally the missing student at the centre of all, one Ruby Rose. The police had enraged him to no end and he found the actions of the three students to be unfathomable, the respective actions of the two groups was absolutely outrageous. The last worried him greatly, from what was reported of the incident, it was unlikely Ruby will ever be the same if she is found alive, an unlikely scenario as time passed due to the size of the search area after factoring Ruby's semblance and endurance. An extensive interrogation unfortunately did not reveal much other than the men having been bought off by an unknown third party. After a detailed report to the counsel, the men had been dismissed from the room and arrested.

* * *

"Ms G, please say something. If you continue to silently stare daggers at us I'm likely going to have a fear induced heart attack." Unable to take the tension, I tried to break the silence hoping to find out what it is that we had done.

"That is Professor Goodwitch to you Ms Xaoi-Long, and quite frankly your behaviour today has left me at a loss for words, you in particular Yang. Now be quiet and wait for Professor Ozpin to call you to his office." These words sent a chill down my spine, most students have in one way or another received a sharp warning or a scolding from the combat instructor but it always came off like being scolded by your mother. This time her words dripped with disappointment and disgust, with poorly concealed anger. Whatever she thought we had done, it must be pretty bad to have her acting like this.

"Glynda, send them up." Professor Ozpin's voice emanated from the intercom on Ms G's desk, and just like the combat instructor his voice was full of restrained anger. A quick glance towards Weiss and Blake told me that it was not just my imagination, whatever had happened there would be hell to pay.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Professor Ozpin pointed to some chairs and merely said 'sit', not even making an effort to hide his anger. "At noon today, an incident occurred involving your team leader and twenty armed officers. For the first time in my life I cannot comprehend what exactly happened; maybe you can help me. Hopefully I can salvage this situation but I'm not very hopeful of my prospects. Inspector Brown and twenty armed officers payed the school a visit in an attempt to arrest Ruby, naturally she refused. The part I don't understand, after being chased by the police for five minutes, she runs across the three of you. Instead of giving her the help she clearly needed you look at the situation and walk away. WHY?!" Professor Ozpin's tone of voice was angry but soft as he recounted the day's events. But as he asked that last question, his voice full off anger mixed with sadness. The question stood out not because he had shouted it, but because of the unusual amount of distress that accompanied it.

"We suspected she was leaving Beacon at times and had begun to doubt her innocence. Uncertain as to what to do, we thought it best to just walked away." Blake explained, not able to look the headmaster in the eyes, preferring to stare at her feet.

Sighing deeply, Ozpin reached for his mug and drank the contents all in one go, a far cry from his usual sipping. Giving us a stern, mindful gaze he attempted to take another sip from his mug, forgetting it was empty. "And here I thought that the four of you would stand by each other against the world if need be, considering your extracurricular activities. I had high hopes for Ruby, very high hopes, and now, thanks to your actions, I do not know if I dare hope. Did you know that Ruby had asked me to maintain a twenty four hour surveillance of her whereabouts? Did you help her research the rules, regulations and procedures outlining how a kingdom's policing force can arrest a huntsman-in-training?" Ozpin spoke softly, he was still angry but couldn't direct it towards anything or anyone. Sharing a glance, we shook our heads in unison as an answer to both questions. Our answer clearly didn't sit well, as his unfocused anger found itself a target, us. "No? Because she did, after Glynda confiscated Crescent Rose she asked to have us supervise her via a surveillance anklet, that way she would have an iron clad alibi if another murder occurred before rushing off to the library. The question that I now have is what were the three of you doing during this time? Studying? Combing your hair? Reading a book?" Professor Ozpin spoke softly, his anger restrained but it wasn't his tone that stung, it was his words as I started to realize at what he was implying.

"We...we thought Ruby would prefer to be alone for a while, she tends to get flustered around others when she's nervous or stressed." Weiss answered, being the most level headed and logical member of the group.

"I will concede that point, Ruby does tend to require space to think, but that does not excuse your actions. Returning to the incident, Ruby ran from the police when it was made clear that the PD was not interested if she was guilty or innocent. When interrogated, they revealed that they had been bribed with a sizeable sum of Lien by an unknown individual. Someone wanted her gone, and had team CVFY not intervened, Ruby would be in custody and I would not have the power to have her released immediately. Unfortunately, this unknown individual won this round thanks to the three of you. Ruby took your actions hard, she broke down then and there. It was only after some prodding and lots of reassuring words that Ms Scarlatina was able to get an idea of what happened just before Ruby ran off to dust only knows where." Each word was a stake in my heart, and with each word I felt sicker and sicker until finally when Professor Ozpin finished, I ran to the trash can to vomit.

"It looks like you are starting to understand the consequences of your actions. That said, I am forced to suspend you until further notice. After this, I have to attend a press conference explaining exactly what happened today. I expect that by this time tomorrow you three will be the most hated individuals on Remnant. Any questions?"

"P-Professor, can I help search for Ruby?" I asked weakly, hoping to find my little sister and apologize even though I know that no apology will see me forgiven.

"Xaoi-Long, if any of you were to help search for Ruby we would never find her, she ran away because of you, what makes you think she will want you to find her."

"Please I'm more then just her sister, Ruby sees me as a mother of sorts."

"XAOI-LONG, WHY DO YOU THINK SHE TOOK YOUR BETRAYAL THE HARDEST!" Cringing from the force of the words, I knew then that I had failed completely as an older sister.

As a new wave of nausea washed over me, I resolved to help Ruby in any way I could. "Professor if I can't search for Ruby, can I hunt the bastard responsible for setting this mess up?"

"Yang, can I help? It's not much, but bringing the ones responsible would be a good way to start apologizing to Ruby." Blake asked, looking as ashamed of herself as I felt. Weiss was in a fetal position, mumbling to herself that she was a failure as a huntress, but her eyes said that she would also like to try and make amends.

"Suspended as you are, any resources normally available to hunters cannot be made available, you will not be protected as huntress-in-training from law enforcement and should any established policing agency request information you are to give them what they ask for without question. I'm letting you know the rules because I can't prevent you from investigating as civilians, you may request information from authorities but they are in no way obligated to divulge anything, understood?!" The sharpness of Professor Ozpin's tone left no doubt that it was not a question, or any room for argument.

Nodding quickly before excusing ourselves, we returned to the elevator, where Ms G was waiting for us. "Well?" Using the same unsettling tone as before, one eyebrow raised and tapping her right foot, the headmistress was waiting to hear the outcome of our meeting.

"We've been suspended but the tongue lashing leading up to that was the real punishment." Unable to look at the very angry professor in the eyes, I walked passed her unable to bear the look of disappointment she was giving us. As I reached for the button leading to the bottom floor, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I did not bother to turn around to find out who the hand belonged to.

"Yang if I hear anything about Ruby, I will let you know." Looking up at the Professor, I noticed that her expression was much softer and that she was concerned for us. Just then my aura unexpectedly flared up as pain washed over me before I passing out.

* * *

"...not know, her aura...possible that...considering that she was like a mother at..."

"...long term effects...possible that her..."

Everything was black as my mind drifted in and out of a thick haze, I could hear bits and pieces of conversation but couldn't make anything out, or who was talking. Eventually, a white light overtook the darkness as my head cleared and I woke up on a bed in the school infirmary.

"Mmm, wh...what happened?" A soft croak escaped as I spoke trying to recall what had happened.

"Oh thank Dust you're finally awake, you had us worried. You've been unconscious for a week. The best that the doctor could tell us was that your aura's natural flow became erratic and as a result started to attack you. He was at a complete loss at what to do except give you an aura suppressor. Apparently this is a first, an aura specialist was called in and he suspects that the cause is an act that went against your core nature and values, resulting in a violent regurgitation of your aura." Blake explained from the side of my bed, golden amber eyes bloodshot from a lack of rest. Biting her lip as if there was more but was debating whether or not to she should mention it.

"Blakey what is it? The only time you bite your lips is when you've got bad news and don't want to be its bearer." Giving her my best 'Don't say it's nothing' look, or tried to, unable to move my head so that I could look at her made it hard to say the least.

"Before that, how are you feeling?"

"Stiff, everything is sore and I can't move more than an inch but should be back on my feet tomorrow." I answered slightly confused about how this and what Blake was hiding related to one another.

"Oh, so you haven't noticed yet. Yang, once your aura finally settled, it tied itself in a knot." The words came out slowly and hesitantly. "The specialist said that it isn't locked up, just knotted in on itself. Your aura should be completely inaccessible at the moment, and that the only way you might be able to untangle it is for you to come to terms or patch things up with what caused this tangle in the first place." Eyes downcast, shoulders slumped and her bow scrunched up, likely because she had her ears flat on her head, told me that it was unlikely I would ever get the full use my aura back if I ever did.

"Whelp that's enough of my problems for now, can't do anything about it at the moment anyhow. So where's Weiss? We have a mission to do and this is a matter of utmost importance, team RWBY's most important mission ever, operation leader's trust reborn." I tried putting on a brave front, trying to play my new disability off as nothing.

"Yang! Don't give me that! I know that you're taking this hard and that you're beating yourself up more than your aura did! You tend to get reckless in situations like this, and this time you don't have your aura to protect you." Blake's eyes were full of disappointment, hurt and worry, worry for obvious reasons. Disappointment and hurt because I felt that I had to shoulder my problems by myself, because I felt that I had to be strong instead of leaning on her for support and overcome this trial as a team.

Slumping my shoulders, I let the facade drop, looking directly into Blake's eyes trying to convey that although I was hurting I would be alright. "Blake, I meant what I said, before I can forgive myself Ruby needs to forgive us. Until then it would be pointless to stress over this."

"That's if she can forgive you, turning your back on her like that must've cut her real deep." Looking up to see Uncle Qrow leaning on the doorframe, taking a swig from his flask, his gruff and crass mannerisms was devoid of its usual warmth, that only those who knew him well could see. Shaking his head as he tossed his flask at me, before starring straight at me with a blaze of emotions burning brightly in his eyes, that the Branwen's are famous for. "Oh, what the hell, Yang?! A week and a half ago the two you trusted each other unconditionally, and then three days later there's only doubt. What the hell happened to have changed that so fast?"

"I...I don't know, I don't know why I doubted her, I don't even remember doubting her at all. I just walked away, but now that I think about it, it's as if it wasn't my choice or that I wasn't in control of myself. I...I'm sorry Ruby, I didn't want to betray you, that...that wasn't really me." As I spoke I broke down in tears, I don't know if it was the stare that Uncle Qrow was giving me or confessing the confusion that I felt about why I doubted Ruby that broke my emotional dam, but I cried longer and harder than I ever did in my life. Blake soon pulled me into a comforting hug, returning the hug I cried on her shoulder until my tears dried.

"You feeling better now firecracker?" Giving both Uncle Qrow and Blake a weak nod to answer the question, I noticed the empty flask on my lap. It took a moment to realize the profound implications of the item that I was now holding. I was about to ask if he was serious, but was cut off before I could ask. "Ruby's inner circle of friends all experienced the same confusing feeling of doubt and lack of faith in her, whoever is responsible for this is about to reap what they have sown." Immediately after speaking he left, waving his hand over his shoulder, indicating that he had nothing left to say. It was just the way he emphasized 'reap', I knew that he was going to sober up and Uncle Qrow is rarely sober, but when he is it's better to avoid a confrontation with him.

"What was that about? He said the same thing to the rest of us, and when he did your Dad said that it's been too long, but wouldn't tell us what it meant." Blake had a look of utter confusion with a dash of annoyance befitting the Ice Queen of the team, the look was so perfect that I had to laugh.

"That look! HAHAHA! You look just like Weiss does when Ruby does something that confuses and annoys her! PSFFFF HAHA! Now you look just like when she's irritated!" This caused Blake to raise an eyebrow and give me one of her trademark 'Mmmm's', she might as well as stuttered 'no I don't'.

"HAHAHA OHHhh! I needed that, anyway to answer your question, you remember when we were first asked to help with the case, Ruby said that she was taught by a scythe master able to let his reaper side out without loosing himself and that Professor Ozpin said that man was our uncle. Well every scythe user has a coping mechanism, Uncle Qrow's just so happens the be his heavy drinking. The fact he gave me his flask means that he intends to sober up. It means he's angry and wants to finish this as quickly as he can, thus 'the grey crow, death's avatar' will grace Remnant once again." Blake visibly paled, although few know Uncle Qrow is the grey crow, all know of his moniker and the stories associated with it. "So Blakey, what did I miss? Is Weiss with Dad? Who else had mixed feelings about Ruby?"

My questions gave Blake the chance to recompose herself as she she recounted the events since I passed out, which was not much; the media was relentlessly trying to get an interview with the three of us or anyone that knows what happened for that matter. Dad and Uncle Qrow stormed Beacon when they found out what had happened, after interrogating all of Ruby's closest friends with the exception of team CVFY, they concluded that someone had created an artificial rift between us and Ruby, and finally, Weiss was with Dad searching for clues as to who is responsible while Blake and Uncle Qrow stayed behind to watch over me.

"So no news about Ruby?" I asked with a desperate plea in my voice and eyes.

"Professor Ozpin just heard from team CVFY yesterday..."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank God I had most of this chapter written out when I posted the last one or it would have been another month before I could have posted it. Took me a week to edit a single paragraph that needed an overhaul.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Of Grimm, Reapers and Dust...**

* * *

And so we return to Ruby. Having told Dracus her story, the two conversed long into the night. Mostly, the conversation gravitated towards the current structure of society and what it was like, customs and traditions past and present, special events and holidays. When the conversation would turn towards one another's past, Ruby would animatedly recount story after story while Dracus would become quiet and solemn, rarely recounting a story preferring to keep his past to himself which Ruby respected and enjoyed the few tales that he did share all the more for it.

* * *

Yawning for the fifth time in as many minutes, my eyes started to feel heavy and my head started to nod as I drifted in and out of sleep. "Ruby, let's call it a night, you look ready to fall asleep mid sentence. Don't worry, I will tend to the fire and no creature would dare enter this cave, Grimm included." Dracus, jostled me awake as he spoke, and despite the low amount of light in the cave, I could see a small amused smirk tugging at the corners of his features.

"Alright, but before I nod-off, can you tell me if 'the Grimm's bane' really is your last name?" Giving Dracus an innocent questioning look as I asked, curious that his family name sounds like a title or a monicker.

"No, it's a monicker that we are given after a personal accomplishment that sets us apart, giving our family name out is considered a very intimate act of trust reserved for very close friends or a lover. I received mine at a young age, around three hundred years old which would put me around four or five in human perspective, when my parents died protecting Sapphire and myself from a swarm of Grimm. I don't remember what happened after they fell to the Grimm but Sapphire did, apparently I killed thousands of them and five Grimm-Spawners. Had it not been for the group of mercenaries hired to hunt the swarm down, who had witnessed the death of the last Spawner, Sapphire's testimony would have been passed off as the wild imagination of a young child mixed with a sibling's hero worship. It's funny at first I was going to get called 'the Grim Reaper' but Sapphire shot that down fast, 'he is a hero so he needs a heroic name like the Grimm's Bane' the way she said that with such determination and innocents the mercenary leader, Drell, had to concede. If only he knew how fitting his choice was I doubt he would have conceded. Drell brought us home with him, and a month later he and his wife officially adopted us. We wouldn't have survived that fight had I not unlocked my aura or my semblance, the death of my parents was the trigger." This was the longest Dracus spoke of himself all night, although he had my undivided attention something from his story tugged at me but tired as I was I couldn't quite grasp what it was. The fact that I could not see what kind of expression he wore, thanks to the play of shadows from the fire obscuring my view of his face, didn't help any. "Now I need an answer from you. It's not as if you can stay here for the rest of your days, so what are you going to do next? You can think on it as you sleep tonight, the sooner you find your answer the better." With that he got up and made to leave. "I'm going to get some more firewood, should be back in ten to twenty, I suggest you take that time to make yourself comfortable."

"Make myself comfortable huh? And with what exactly am I supposed to make myself comfortable with?" Mulling my thoughts out loud barely audible, annoyed that he brushed me off without giving me any sage like advice.

"Sorry not much I can do on such short notice, besides you're the one that ran off unprepared." Dracus shot back with a small amount of laughter in his voice from the entrance of the cave's chamber, too far even for a Faunas to have heard me only adding to my frustration as I didn't intend for him to have heard me. With that bit he left the chamber, or so I assume he did as the light from the fire didn't reach that far.

Admitting defeat as I settled around the fire for the night wrapping my cloak around me for warmth, my thoughts returned to my current predicament. What I wanted, the question consumed my every thought and eventually my dreams as I drifted to sleep.

* * *

" **Yang! No! Don't go!** " Yelling as I bolted upright from a particularly accurate nightmare of the previous days events. As I tried to calm down from the vivid dream, I looked around the cave chamber and noted that it was surprisingly large and that the sunlight reflecting off the statue of Sapphire illuminated the chamber in a bright kaleidoscope of sapphire blue's and glimmer from the gemstones that adorned it, creating a warm peacefully relaxing environment. The only oddity that I could see was a crater in the wall, the outline left by a person still faintly visible.

Finally having calmed down the cave served as a reminder of the previous day's events, crushing any hopes that yesterday was nothing more then a bad dream. I wanted everything how it was, that yesterday never really happened but more importantly I wanted to return to Beacon Academy to confront my teammates and put this behind us. Unfortunately I knew that nothing would ever return to what they were, the trust we once had is now broken and gone and it would take years for the shadows of doubt to be replaced with the trust we once had.

"Good morning Ruby, I would ask you if you slept well but the amount of tossing, turning and mumbling you did last night is answer enough. Other than that, you look as if you have found the answer to my question. Sooooo? What have you decided?" Startled by the sudden appearance of my new acquaintance? Friend? I whipped my head around as I jumped with a shrill 'eep', subconsciously reaching for Crescent Rose only to grasp at nothing.

"Dust! You scared four years off my life just now, and how do you do that mind reading thing!?" Trying to sound serious, frustrated and slightly cold, I realized that I may have spent too much time around Weiss as I sounded very much like her just now. Dracus had just returned to the cave carrying what appeared to be breakfast consisting of a wild boar on a wooden spit and a basket of wild berries, fruits, nuts and other edible plants.

Taking this opportunity to get my first good look of Dracus now that I could actually see properly. He has dark ruby red almost crimson scales so dark that they could be mistaken to be black, his eyes are deep pools of dark navy blue that appeared to be bottomless, his small white dorsal spines and claws stood out against his dark scales, his head was decorated by a crest of thick scales that flowed down his neck, back and all the way to the tip of his metre long tail, but his wings are what really caught my attention. His wings were vastly different from any other flight capable creature; even from that of his sister's, the profile of her wings resembled that of a bat's that protruded from the small of her back and the webbing only reached her hips. His on the other hand was comprised of four segments compared to Sapphire's two, protruding from between and slightly below his shoulder blades, the first segment was the smallest as it only just reached eye level, the other three segments all of the same length stretched all the way down his body shy of touching the ground, giving him a wingspan of over ten metres, although how he can fly escaped me considering I couldn't make out if his wings were webbed or not and he definitely didn't have feathers.

Snickering at my reaction and my undignified squeal as he brought the food over to the fire. "It's not mind reading, I'm just reading your expressions and the emotions off your aura, add that to your situation and you're pretty much an open book. Anyone can learn to do this given enough time, it's not a special technique or anything like that, just careful observation. Anyway don't think you changed the subject, out with it already." Not bothering to look away as he started to butcher the boar using the last segment of his wings as a knife and...wait what?! Surprised I looked again to see five finger like ribs, four of which supported a scaled webbing that stretched all the way to his lower back and the fifth one was one long, very sharp scale that could be seen as a claw if it wasn't for the free range of movement it had, alluding that it was more of a specialized thumb.

After a moment of silent staring on my part, Dracus cleared his throat loudly. "Hehe sorry, my mind kinda wandered there. What do I want to do? Well I'd like to go back and confront my team, buuut I'm not ready, I need to let the wounds heal a bit first. So in the meantime I was thinking of going after the people who tried to frame me, maybe I can find out how my team's faith in me seemingly evaporated overnight, you never know it might have been a misunderstanding." My voice shook as I spoke, I was hopeful that it was a misunderstanding but realistically I knew better.

After a few seconds Dracus let out a loud sigh before staring straight into my eyes as if he was looking for something. "Alright I can help you indirectly, I can not and will not intervene in the affairs of mankind but I can teach you a thing or two that will give your combat skills a boost, I will stick around after that but your on your own in a fight. Got it?" Squealing with excitement at the prospect of possibly learning long forgotten techniques from an extremely experienced warrior I nodded my head acknowledging that I understood and accepted his terms, satisfied his stern gaze softened before he continued. "What I will be teaching you is how to use your aura to its fullest; that includes fully awakening it, how to properly channel your aura into a weapon and mastering your semblance, along with martial arts complete with a gruelling training regimen and finally what and how to walk the true path of the reaper and yes I'm also a reaper that's why 'the Grimm Reaper' would have been a fitting name for myself."

"No! No way! Not happening, I am not going to become one of those crazed murderers." Standing up and turning away from him, I began to storm off infuriated that he would even consider such a thing.

"Ruby! Do I look like a crazed psychopath?" The question and tone Dracus used stopped me in my tracks. It was true he didn't appear to be enthralled with the pleasure of killing, nor did he appear to be mentally unstable.

Weakly answering no as I made eye contact, nervously fretting that I may have pushed him away with my unintended accusation, but soon realized that he didn't appear to have taken offence instead all I could see in his expression was understanding.

"Ruby, hear me out, it's all I'm asking." Returning to his task of cooking and curing the boar meat, Dracus appeared absorbed in his task but alert and at ease at the same time.

"Alright, I can do that, but I will not let you turn me into a killer got that." It was my turn to gaze sternly at him standing firm and unyielding on this point, not that it did much good with his back to me, receiving no discernible answer as I made my way back to the fire for breakfast.

Breakfast was spent planing and after an embarrassing moment where I had to admit that I had absolutely no clue where on Remnant we were, Dracus drew a world map that had Solitas as part of Sanus and Anima using a charred stick as a pencil, despite all of this we were able to plot a course back to Vale. Deciding to leave in a week so that we could prepare for the trip and give Dracus time to drill the basics of his training into me. By the time we finished eating a list of materials and foodstuff needed for the trip was compiled.

Once breakfast was over I looked at the map once more, still disbelieving that I ran halfway to Vacuo in half a day's time. "Dracus when you said you'd teach me how to perfectly use my semblance, will that include how to do that mad dash I did yesterday?"

"Yes and no. I think that you don't know the exact mechanics of your semblance, and as a result are unable to use it correctly or to its full potential. Well no mater I will know how to approach that after I see your semblance for myself, that however is a matter for later. Right now I need you to understand two things. First is that most of my training exercises will be potentially dangerous, unlikely to be life threatening but could cripple you in one way or another and end your career as a huntress, if you are to continue I need you to promise me that you WILL NOT deviate from my instructions or try anything unsupervised without consulting me first, understood?" This put a dampener on my excitement, this is perhaps the greatest opportunity of my life, right up there with my early acceptance at beacon and to learn that it could ruin all of my hard work is a little disheartening. After a moment of reflection I hastily promised to follow his instructions, knowing that if I did as I was told the danger should be nominal.

"The second thing is a general understanding of why reapers exist and the role we play in the world, which is to accelerate the decomposition of positive and negative emotion, mostly from the dead, so that new life can be born of the energy, that new life emits emotional energies of its own and the process repeats perpetuating the cycle. Although it is not something inherently evil it is one of darkness, being privy to another's emotions and often memories as well is grim and harrowing at times but exhilarating and soothing at others. Only the strongest can become true Reapers, true 'Harvesters' and I believe that you Ruby, has what it takes to become a true Reaper of Dust and Grimm."

"Wait a 'Reaper of Dust and Grimm' are you implying that Dust and the creatures of Grimm are condensed masses of emotions?" I asked with a shocked expression, the composition of Dust and Grimm is the current research fields of utmost importance only for it to be revealed to me as if it were an afterthought.

"Yes but that's not the important part, the why is the crucial bit. Are you familiar with the creation of Remnant?" Shaking my head to answer no, the question had captivated my attention I knew that there were several religions in the past but not many survive to this day.

"No!? That may be for the best if your ancestors thought it wise to forget or hide the truth, but I digress. The creation of Remnant started with the arrival of the twin gods of light and darkness in the void that was, their very presence brought about the land, the sun, the moons and all of the other celestial bodies in the sky. But the world was barren, the land held no warmth, the seas were still and the air did not stir. The god of light cast his gaze across the world one day and decided that it needed more, thus he created life that radiated the same inner light as himself. Plants and animals of all kinds now decorated the world with vibrant colours and an orchestra of cries, howls, caws, croaks and songs. As the sun set he retired for the night filled with pride at what he had accomplished. When the god of darkness awoke that night, he briefly marvelled at his brothers creations before growing envious and jealous that no matter how he tried, he would never be able create such beauty. Eventually that jealousy turned to hatred and in his hatred the god of darkness created fires, floods, earthquakes, eruptions and violent storms to destroy all his brother had created, but despite this day after day life returned as if the disasters were nothing more than a dream. In time the god of light had had enough and confronted his twin with a simple question 'why'. The simplicity of the question and lack of anger accompanied with it shocked the god of darkness into answering honestly 'I was jealous that you created such beautiful life and used it to fill this once barren world, I was envious that I'm incapable of creating such inner radiance and I'm angry that I can't even create life only tools of destruction'. It was then that the god of light proposed that they create one final life, one that was uniquely gifted and born of both light and darkness, something that a the gods could truly be proud of. Pooling their powers together the gods created the human race gifted with choice, knowledge, creation and destruction but this act had unforeseen consequences. The first was the birth of the Faunus, animals given the form and gifts of man. The second was the alteration of all life to be fated to eventually die so that new life may be born from death in a never ending cycle. Third was Dust and Grimm, physical manifestation of emotions exhumed from all forms of life mixed with the essence of light and darkness. Fourth was the Reapers and the Shepherds, special individuals that embodies light or darkness that help protect the cycle of life. And finally Aura and Semblances, manifestations brought about by the merging of light, darkness and the gifts the gods gave mankind. Satisfied the gods left Remnant many years later leaving behind six relics representing the six elements that shaped mankind. These relics aren't just some fancy pieces of rock, they're physical lumps of power that the gods used to create mankind. Light, darkness, choice, knowledge, creation and destruction respectively, together they could be used to recreate Remnant entirely or even raise an individual to god-hood." Having finished explaining the origins of Remnant, Dracus gave me a sage patient look as I collected my thoughts and processed this new information.

"Okkk... so as the gods created mankind things went a little haywire and as a result the Faunus, Dust and Grimm amongst other things just popped up unexpectedly. Does that sound right or do I have things mixed up? Why didn't the gods just get rid of the Grimm? Why let evil walk and terrorize their creations? And what does that have to do with Reapers and these Shepherds you mentioned?" Now utterly confused but also curious, something told me that I needed to learn and understand this simple little truth that for some reason appears elusive and obscure in order to better myself as a person and as a Huntress.

"Those are some good questions. If I were to take a guess, I'd say that on a subconscious level the Gods knew that there was a possibility that eventually humanity would destroy itself thanks to the gifts of choice and destruction. The Grimm prevent a buildup of hostility from reaching a critical point, man eventually learned to how utilize Dust and other tools to better defend themselves from the Grimm. The Shepherds are prodigal warriors who protect mankind from the Grimm and other dark elements by burning them away with waves of searing light. Reapers, who are also prodigious warriors, actively hunt greater threats then the Shepherds do and harvest emotions to convert it into pure life force, this permits new life to take root and flourish. Aura and Semblances gave each life individuality and an irreplaceable value, while the birth of the Faunus diversified mankind. So to answer your question, the Grimm act as a form of population control and as a deterrent to war. Granted they're a complete pain but not evil. As for the other part of the question why don't you tell me?" Looking at me with an expectant look as if I was the one teaching and he was the eager pupil.

I don't know if it was how he turned the question back on me, if it was just plain curiosity or what but something compelled me to find the answer myself. _"Well if Reapers convert emotions into life energy and if the Grimm are made up of emotions then we would limit their numbers... but that doesn't explain dust... unless in hight concentrations it can causes natural disasters."_ "Reapers and Shepherds exist to maintain balance between life, Dust and Grimm... no that's not right we exist to prevent an imbalance is that it? But if that's true then why do we have a strong affinity to death? At first I thought it was because we enjoyed killing." A spark of interest had taken hold of me that could be compared to my love of weapons, washing away any reservations I held about becoming a Reaper and the more I delved into the subject the greater my interest became until I was vibrating with excitement and fascination.

"Yes, yes! It may not seem like there's a difference but there is, it took me over a thousand years to make the distinction but you did it in less then ten minutes. And I take it that you figure that wild dust reactions are devastating and trust me they are. As for our affinity to death, I don't know why Reapers are aligned with death yet, or why we prefer scythes as weapons. Honestly I don't have all the answers but the little I do know I shall teach you as best I can." Excitedly continuing in his scholarly tone, Dracus appeared to be impressed and pleasantly surprised by my insight and interest before mischievously grinning from ear to ear. "And speaking of teaching, your first lesson will be after you demonstrate your semblance, I will start you on a meditation to work on awakening your aura. Taking that time to come up with a hand to hand combat style tailored to you and you only, tomorrow your 'training' will start." Although Dracus already had a grin that could rival Nora's after a sugar binge, his grin widened to impossible proportions as he put emphasis on his use of the word training that caused a shiver to run up my spine.

"Sh-should I be scared?" My voice escaped as a nervous squeak and trembled lightly. As way of answer Dracus chuckled in a way that I can't describe but only added to my nervousness.

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 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait, this chapter needed a lot of fine tuning. Half of it was scrapped twice and it didn't help that I had two weddings to attend one of which I was the best man. So considering this chapter was in the works for nearly a year I hope you enjoy.**

 **PS. please send me feedback, what you like and dislike could help me improve as an author.**


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